Improvement in steam-brakes



2 Sheets-Sheet, 1. W. PATTERSON.

Steam-Brake. No..211,775. Patented Jan. 28,1879.

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Stealan-Brakel No. 211,775. f Patented Jan. 28,1879.

vUNITED STATES Parar FFIGE.

WILLIAM PATTERSON, OFSCONSTANTINE, MICHIGAN.

v'IMPROVEMENT IN STEAM-BRAKES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 211,775, dated January28, 1879; application filed June 21, 1878.

To all lwhom t may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM PATTERSON, ofConstantine, in the county of St. Joseph and State of Michigan, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Steam-Brakes; and I dohereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, which will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference markedthereon, which form a part of this specification.

In my improved steain-brake for railwaycars I use a singlesteain-cylinder beneath the iioor of each car, with a double piston,adapted to work within said cylinder, in connection with a fixedsteam-supplypipe passing through both heads of said cylinder, and fittedwith couplin gs at each end of the car. The double piston is carried bya hollow piston-rod, fitted to work upon the fixed steam-supplypipe,and,

passing through the cylinder-heads, projects therefrom a short distance,to connect with and operate the brakes through suitable brakeconnectingdevices.

The iixed steam-supply pipe and the hollow piston-rod have coincidentopenings, arranged to admit the steam within the cylinder between thepistons, one of which has a valve which is adjusted to open under acertain pressure of steam in the cylinder, between the pistons, andallow the steam to pass from between said pistons into a space betweenthe cylinder-head and the valved piston, and thereby operate the latterto put on the brakes. An interior projection on the cylinder-head servesto form this space; otherwise the valve could not be opened against theinner side of the cylinder-head. In this way I employ a fixedsteam-supplyfpipe, in combination with a short hollow piston-rod, tomake the brakeconnections, while the cylinder-chamber between the doublepiston serves` as a steamsupply chest, from which, by means of branchvalved pipes, the cars are heated in the winter season and the pistonsprevented from f freezing. The pressure of the steam in the cylinder forthis purpose bein g'less than that required to open the piston-valve,the engineer can always adapt said pressure for heating the cars oroperating the brakes by means of this steam -cliest, formed by thedouble piston in the cylinder, so that no separate attachments forheating the cars are required.

A spiral spring is applied directly upon one end of the hollowpiston-rod, so as to act upon the cylinder-head, and a collar on saidhollow piston-rod, to return the double piston and the brake appliancesto their proper positions when the steam is cut off from thebrake-cylinder.

An exhaust-valve is connected with and operated by the hollow piston, toallow the escape of the steam from the space between the cylinder-headand the piston when the brakes are otf, and to allow for the inlet andoutlet of air at the other end. The steam-supply pipes are coupled bygas bracket pipe jointings, united by female-screw-nut union at the endof each car, whereby the couplings conform to the movements of the cars.

Each end of the short hollow piston-rod is provided with a stuffing-box,to make its joinings with the steain-supply pipe steam-tight. The fixedsteam-supply pipe, at the point where the steam enters the cylinderthrough the openings in the hollow-piston-rod, is reduced in diameter,to allow ample space all around the supply-pipe for the escape of thesteam therefrom, and not interfere with the full supply for thecylinder.

I utilize the short hollow piston-rod as the means of supplying steam toexpand metallicring packing of the pistons, byradial channels leadingfrorn beneath said packing-rings and opening into the space between saidhollow piston-rod and the fixed steam-supply pipe. The packing-ring forthis purpose has a concentric tongue or tongues on its inner surfaceiittin g into a corresponding groove or grooves in the piston periphery,and thereby obtains a wide bearing and packing surface for the pistons.

To admit of the expansion of the packingring, it is cnt and an I-shapedmetallic jointclosing device inserted between its abutting ends.

A hollow steam-supply pipe fixed beneath the floor of a car is not newin connection with double steam-cylinders provided with separate pistonsfor operating the brake devices of railway-cars; nor is a longsteamisupply pipe iitted with a piston to move in a cylinder, andprovided with openings, through which the steam escapes from said longmovable supply-pipe into said cylinder to operate said piston, new; butmy improved steambrake differs from such in construction andcombination, by which I overcome many difficulties to the successfuloperations ot' such brakes.

Referring to the drawings, Figure l repre` sents a side view ot' asteam-brake applied to the iioor of a car, and showing one of the trucksthereof; Fig. 2, a vertical section through the steam-cylinder, itsshort hollow movable piston-rod and a portion ofthe xed steam-supplypipein the positions the several parts occupy when the brakes are oli', Fig.3, a similar section, showing the parts in the positions they occupywhen the brakes are on; Fig. 4, detail view of the piston and itspacking-ring in connection with the hollow short movable piston-rod;Fig. 5, the packing-ring and its joint-closing I-shaped metallic device;and Fig. 6, top and side views of the metal joint-pipes for coupling thefixed steam-supply pipes of two cars.

The steam-cylinder A isv secured in any suitable manner to the floor Bof the car between the trucks, one ot' which, C, only is shown. The xedsteam-supply pipe D passes through the cylinder, extends from one end ofthe car to the other, and is suspended to the floor by hangers E,arranged at suitable distances apart. yThis pipe is provided with metalcouplings at each end, to make the connections with the several cars andwith the boiler oi' the locomotive.

Within the cylinder, and upon the fixed steam-supply pipe, doublepistons F F are arranged upon a hollow piston-rod, G, the ends of whichextend through stuffing-boxes H H at each4 end ot' the cylinder, andconnect by armed collars I I with rods J J, which connect with thebrake-bars K K by any suitable arrangement of rods uniting with saidbrakes, so that they can be applied and released by the action of theshort hollow piston-rod, which is provided with stuffing-boxes L L ateach end outside of the cylinder-heads, to render its connection withthe fixed steam-supply pipe steam-tight.

The steam, when put 011 by the engineer, is admitted into the cylinderbetween the pistons by means of openings a, Fig. 2,-in the fixedsupply-pipe and coincident openings b in the hollow piston-rod, and thepiston is provided with a spring-valve, M, which is opened by thepressure of the steam in the cylinder, to allow the steam to pass outfrom between the pistons into a space, N, between one of said pistonsand the cylinder-head, and thus force the double piston back toward theother cylinder-head, and thereby apply the brakes. An interiorcylinder-head projection, c, serves .to keep the piston from closingagainst said head, and ihereby allow the spring-valve to be opened. Thisspring-valve is adjusted to be opened when the pressure of the steam issut'- ficient to apply the brakes, which can be de termined by theengineers gage.

The diameter of the fixed supply-pipe is less than that of the interiorof the hollow pistonrod, (see Fig. 2,) to form a space between them, toallow the free escape ot' the steam through the openings a b into thecylinder. The cylinder is of a length to allow of suflicient movement ofthe double p iston and its short hollow rod to properly apply thebrakes, and when the steam is cut off from the locomotive the return ofthe double piston and the release of the brakes are ei'ected by means ofa spiral spring, O, arranged upon. one end of the hollow piston-rod, soas to bear upon the cylinder stuffing-box and a collar on said hollowpiston-rod. This action of the spring also operates an exhaust-valve,I), formed by a'rod connected with the collar P on the opposite outsideend of said hollow piston-rod, and passing through openings in theflanges of the cylinder, so as to bring an opening, d, in saidlvalve-rod coincident with an opening, c, in one of said anges, whichcommunicates with. the interior or" the cylinder for the escape of theexhaust-steam and the water therefrom, and this Ais the normal positionof said valve when the brakes are oft'. v

I utilize the steam-cylinder as ,a chest for supplying steam to heat thecars in cold weather by means of a valved pipe, Q, leading from thespace between the double piston up through the car-floor and joiningwith suitable heating-pipes.

This construction also allows the steam to be kept in the heatingsupply-chest, to prevent freezing, and at such pressure as will not openthe piston-valve. The valve Q allows the steam to be cut oft' when notneeded for this purpose.

Either of the pistons may have the springvalve, in order to allow thedouble piston to be operated from either end of the cylinder, ifdesired, in which case the returning-spring must be correspondinglyarranged.

The couplings for the xed steam-supply pipes for the cars of the trainconsist of short joint-pipes R R R It', similar to gas-bracket joinings,the sections R being coupled by a union, S, Fig. 6, tted with suitablepacking. This construction allows the coupling-sections to stand in azigzag line to each other and to the line of the cars, so as toaccommodate for the longitudinal play ofthe cars, while they also allowof the lateral play of the cars, and thus maintain the communicationbetween the xed steam-supply pipes of all the cars with theloeomotiveboiler. This gives a simple and durable metallic coupling,although I am aware that a metallic coupling for the purpose is notbroadly new 5 but coupling sections with4 the fixed steamsupply pipes,as I have arranged and adapted them for the purpose, is eiective andfree from the complicated metal couplings heretofore designed. I utilizeythe hollow 'piston-rod, in connection with the xed steam-supply pipe,as the means of Inaking communication with the packing-rings f, Figs. 4and 5, ofthe double piston,to render the said packing-rings steam-tight.This is effected by radial openings g, Figs. 2 and 4, in the pistons,communicating with the space between the xed steam-supply pipe and thehollow piston-rod and with one or more annular channels, Fig. 2, in thecircumference of the piston-heads. The packing-rings f are v providedwith one or more annular ribs, h,

Fig. 5, adapted to t wi thin said channels, and these rings are cut toadmit of being expanded when the steam is let on, and an I-shapedjoint-closing metal device, T, is inserted between the cut ends to closethe opening which would otherwise be formed between said ends, therebyobtaining a broad bearing and perfect packing for the pistons, madesteam-tight through the communication with the xed steam-supply pipe,and in this connection only such piston-packing is claimed in asteam-operatin g brake.

If desired, the double pistons may be connected by a shell havingopenings to admit the steam in an annular space between it and the innerwall of the cylinder, and thereby form the steam-chest from which tosupply the heating-steam for the car, and to prevent the freezing of theworking parts.

The end of the fixed steam-pipe on the last car is closed by a cap. Theexhaust-valve is flattened at t', Figs. 2 and 3, for the purpose ofmakin g a perpetual communication, e', between the piston F', thecylinder-head, and the outer air, to allow of the escape of the air inapplying the brakes, and of its admission in releasing the brakes; andthe flattened part t2 of said valve allows the steam to escape slowlywhen the brake is being operated, so that when the steam is cut off thebrakes can be released.

I claim- 1. In a steam-brake, the combination, with the cylinder, of adouble piston, one of which ha-s a spring-valve, a short hollowpiston-rod connecting with the brake devices, and the fixed steam-supplypipe communicating with the cylinder through coincident openings in thehollow piston-rod, for operation as set forth.

2. In a steam-car brake, the combination, with the cylinder, a fixedsteam-supply pipe, and a hollow piston-rod working thereon, withcoincident openings communicating with the cylinder, substantially asdescribed, of the exhaust-valve, operated by the hollow pistonrod,substantially as herein set forth.

3. In a steam-brake, the combination, with the cylinder, a xedsteam-supply pipe, and a hollow piston-rodgworking thereon, and havingcommunicating openings, substantially as herein set forth, of a springarranged upon said hollow piston-rod between an adjustable collarthereon and the cylinder-head, whereby the return movement of the doublepiston and its hollow piston-rod is effected to release the brakesconnected therewith, substantially as herein set forth.

4. In a steam-brake, the combination',with the cylinder, a fixedsteam-supply pipe, and a hollow piston-rod working thereon, carrying adouble piston, and having coincident communications, substantially asset forth, of a valved pipe leading from the cylinder-space between saiddouble pistons to the car above, whereby the cylinder forms asteam-supply chest for heating the car whether the brakes be on or off,substantially as herein described.

5. The fixed steam-supply pipe of less diameter than the interior of thehollow pistonrod which works thereon, and having coincident openingscommunicating with the cylinder, whereby to give free escape of steamfrom the xed supply-pipe into the cylinder, substantially as herein setforth.

6. The combination, with the fixed steamsupply pipe and the hollowpiston-rod working thereon, and having coincident openings communicatingwith the cylinder-space between douhle pistons, of the channels g insaid piston-head, the packing-ring f adapted to a groove or grooves insaid cylinder coml municating with the fixed steam-supply pipe throughsaid hollow piston-rod, for the purpose herein set forth.

7 The combination, with the fixed supplyA pipes D D of a steam-brakeconstructed substantially as described, of the'horizontal jointedconnecting-sections R R, the cross-section R R', and the union Sthereof, arranged between the platforms of the cars, substantially asherein set forth.

8. The exhaust-valves P, having the recesses t' and the openings d, incombination with the cylinder-openings e c and the double piston F F',for the purpose stated.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have afxed my signature in thepresence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM PATTERSON.

Witnesses Cans. H. BARRY, Jr.,

E. THORNE.

